True passion never dies
by shiverdreams
Summary: Post-war canon fic. Yaoi. Being one of the strongest is great, but it can be lonely and miserable sometimes. The thing with great power, people want to steal it. Thankfully, misery loves company. Naruto might just get what he's been yearning for this entire time. Guess holding on to the past isn't always a bad thing.
1. Chapter 1

_Post-war canon story. I felt inspired after reading chapter 627. So I wrote this just for fun and then I just sort of went with it. I know it's probably not going to make sense with how the manga unfolds. But that's what fanfiction is for, right? Consider this my version of things._

_Chapter 1_

He woke up feeling soft drops of water on his face. As he opened his eyes the first lights of dawn gave him hope. Was it finally morning, after the long night that never seemed to end? It had been one hell of a fight.

"_We won_," the nine-tails said simply inside his mind. He remained quiet after that. It seemed he, too, was resting.

Naruto's father was here, sitting right next to him. It was taking some time for Naruto to regain his senses. But it all came back to him now. His father had saved his life, and helped win the war, finally defeating Madara and Obito, along with the other Hokages, and… some unlikely allies.

"Are you all right?" Minato asked him, concerned.

Looking all around, Naruto saw that numerous shinobi were getting healed by the medical squads. It was too late for Neji though. A pang in his chest hurt more than his actual injuries at the thought of losing his friend. It just sucked that people had to die for such a stupid war. A war driven by Obito and Madara's hatred for the world. It was all over now, though.

Naruto managed to sit up. His entire body hurt so much. His clothes were all ripped and dirty. He looked up at his father.

"How?" He whispered. The other Kages were nowhere to be seen. The resurrection jutsu must have been called off.

"Sasuke convinced Orochimaru to keep up the jutsu just a little longer, and just for me."

"He did?"

Looking farther in the distance, Naruto saw his old friend and Orochimaru standing atop a small hill. They seemed to be discussing something. Sasuke was putting his sword back in its sheath. Sasuke had used his eternal mangekyou to fight Madara and destroy him for good. Naruto had been on the verge of passing out, but he hadn't been able to close his eyes. He had seen everything. Sasuke had been brilliant. As always.

"Naruto," his father said, and he brought his attention back to him, "I am so proud of you." He put his arm on his son's shoulder.

"Thank you," Naruto said simply. He was so exhausted. He didn't know what more to say. He knew his father couldn't stay in this world much longer. What the hell was he supposed to say? How could he choose his last words to him?

"Your mother would've been proud, too," Minato smiled.

"Maybe she was watching over us the whole time."

"I'm sure she was."

"We don't have much time, do we?" Naruto felt a tear roll down his cheek.

He looked away, a bit embarrassed. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to be weak.

It was raining, and it was sunny at the same time. There was a rainbow in the sky. You'd think the war had never happened. It was all so quiet now.

Minato ruffled his hair and laughed softly.

"Don't make that face. You'll be okay, won't you?"

Naruto managed a weak smile. "Yeah, always am, somehow."

"Again, I'm so proud of you, of the man you're becoming. And I hope you can be Hokage after Tsunade."

"That's the plan!"

Minato smiled. "That's my boy."

"Okay this is just too much." Naruto was laughing and crying at the same time. "Man, I wish you could stay…"

His father nodded. "I know. I feel the same way. But it's time to say goodbye."

"Again."

"Yeah… I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me, for anything, ever. You always did the right thing, in every situation."

"Well you have to get it from someone!"

Naruto shook his head. This was just so hard. They were silent for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Sometimes there was no need for words.

There were soft footsteps on the mutilated ground, coming closer. Naruto took a deep breath.

"Sasuke," he said.

"Naruto."

He stood so he could look at him face to face.

"Tell me, really, what made you change your mind?"

Sasuke's gaze didn't falter. There was no emotion in those deep, dark eyes. It made Naruto shiver.

"Itachi, mostly."

"So you saw him."

Minato stepped away for a moment, letting them talk. But Orochimaru was also approaching. It wouldn't be long now.

"We defeated Kabuto together," Sasuke explained.

Naruto ran his fingers through his wet, messy blonde hair shakily. If only it could stop raining. He couldn't think clearly. He realized he wasn't wearing his headband – it must have fallen off at some point during the battle.

"I knew it had to be Itachi. I saw him, too. He told me he wanted me to talk to you, but I wanted it to be him. There are some things only family can accomplish. Sometimes the only person left you can trust, and open your heart to, is a sibling, or a parent…"

"You're smarter than you used to be," Sasuke said.

Falling back into old habits, Naruto became a bit defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The hint of a smile crossed Sasuke's face. He didn't answer that.

Naruto turned to look at his father. Orochimaru was standing next to Sasuke by now.

"Tell mom I say hi. And I love her."

"She loves you too. And so do I."

Naruto couldn't even speak anymore. There was something stuck in his throat. He was hurting, on the inside. Why did he have to feel so lonely?

"As you release him," Sasuke was saying quietly to Orochimaru, "I will release you, too."

"You can always do this again whenever you need me," Orochimaru said.

"I don't think it will be necessary."

"As you wish."

Releasing a jutsu, or a genjutsu, was always very fast. But this time it involved real people. In an instant, they were gone. It seemed awfully brutal. Naruto was left with a hole in his chest. He wrapped his hands around himself, shaking from the cold and the rain. When he looked at Sasuke he felt an overwhelming, familiar emotion. Longing, and yearning. He used to feel that way when it came to Sasuke. Maybe he still did. Right now, he was looking into the eyes of a boy who had also lost his entire family to the never ending war of the shinobi world.

Naruto wasn't his childish self anymore. But he still had to ask. Force of habit, perhaps.

"Are you coming back to Konoha?"

"No."

That small word hurt more than it should. Why couldn't he stop hoping for the impossible?

He looked away. "Will I see you again?"

"Who knows?" Sasuke's voice was cold and uncaring, as always. Some things never changed.

"I won't chase after you anymore."

"It's about time you stopped."

That kinda stung, too. All he ever did was try to help someone he cared about. Someone lost and confused.

He closed his eyes briefly. He needed to keep calm, so he didn't lash out at him. It was pointless, and he was too exhausted right now. He could barely even stand.

"Then leave. If anyone else sees you, they'll try to have you arrested."

"I'd like to see them try," Sasuke said arrogantly.

This time Naruto stared, anger clouding his blue eyes.

"I don't want anymore bloodshed, Sasuke."

"Goodbye then, Naruto."

He went to meet with his friends – Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo, if Naruto wasn't mistaken – and they left together. Naruto needed to go find his own friends.

Somehow, the sun shone through more strongly through the rain. It wasn't entirely welcome though. Everyone was tired. When he bumped into Sakura, she hugged him tight.

"Naruto, let me heal you again."

"No, you look so pale and exhausted. I'll be fine, I just need to sleep it off."

"Let's go find you a medical bed."

She was being so nice, but she was delusional if she actually believed there was an empty medical bed somewhere in the camp. There were so many injured people. So Naruto shook his head.

"I'll be fine," he repeated. "I'll find some place to rest."

Reluctantly, she nodded. Then she pulled away from him and asked, "Where's Sasuke?"

"He's gone."

Another nod. She seemed disappointed. Naruto couldn't blame her. Their childhood friend had done nothing but disappoint them, over and over again.

"Take care of our friends, Sakura." He took her hand and squeezed gently, before letting go. "They need you now."

He had done everything he could to save them on the battlefield. It hadn't been enough, but there was nothing more he could do now. It was her turn to use her powers to help.

She seemed to understand his need to be alone for now. He retreated to the woods beyond their camp, seeking the shadow of the trees. He missed his father already. And Sasuke… If you don't have a family, then you can always find a new one. He used to think that Sasuke was his new family, along with Kakashi and Sakura, of course. But Sasuke had always been special to him. They just had so much in common; deep down they both knew that. He had always known these feelings wouldn't go away. He was stuck with this pointless yearning for Sasuke, for his acknowledgement, for his approval, his friendship… It was so frustrating. He wished he could just move on. But every time he saw him, it made it so much worst.

Naruto sat in the leaves and leaned again a large tree, closing his eyes. He was too tired to think.

He dreamed that he was still with Sasuke. They were sitting together and having a nice talk. They were older in the dream, more mature. Well, it couldn't be real. If there was one thing Sasuke and Naruto had never been able to do, it was having a proper conversation between friends.

There was one thing Naruto had forgotten to ask him, before. He asked him in the dream.

"Why did you tell Orochimaru to keep up the jutsu for my father until I woke up?"

"Because I wanted you to have your last moment with him, just like I had mine with my brother."

Sasuke was being ridiculously nice and honest in the dream. Unfortunately, it didn't last. It changed and became something scary. There were more fights, more friends dying, more endless nights. Naruto couldn't make sense of it and when he woke up later it was forgotten.

But somehow the longing for Sasuke was even more intense than before.

…

On the opposite side of what had been the battlefield, Sasuke sneakily came back to have a little secret audience with the Hokage.

He felt tired. He was parched and beyond exhaustion. The last few days had been intense to say the least. The twists and turns and turmoil of emotions had him confused and dizzy. Now that it had all come to a conclusion he wanted to take a chance with an idea that had been dancing in his mind for a little while.

Sasuke didn't fancy a life of wandering around aimlessly with Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo – not that he didn't like them but he didn't want to play fugitives forever.

So he needed to discuss something with Tsunade. Her assistant, Shizune, was the only one that knew he was waiting for her in a private tent, isolated from the rest.

She walked in, looking quite beat herself. She cut straight to the chase.

"You've been quite the assistance in this war, as it turns out, but I can't overlook your crimes and let you come back to my village with a clean slate."

"I'm not asking you to."

She seemed very wary of him. Her eyes narrowed.

"Then what did you want to discuss with me?"

"I want to win your trust by being your trump card."

"Excuse me?"

Sasuke repressed a sigh. He was so tired, and irritated. But he could do this. He just had to be patient and make her understand.

"The war is over, but it's only a matter of time before more problems arise. I've come to learn that this is how this world works. There's nothing we can do about it."

"There might be someone that can make a change."

"Save it, Tsunade."

She didn't like that.

"You expect to come in here and talk to me like that? You better be careful, kid."

Sasuke had to repress the urge to roll his eyes. What did this woman think she could do against him?

"I'm just saying, I didn't come here to listen to your speech about how great Naruto is, and how he's going to bring peace and change the world."

"What's your point exactly?"

"Until Naruto saves us all, we'll have to deal with problems, more wars between villages."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm. Naruto is very serious about his goals."

"Again, I'm not here to talk about him. I'd like to work for you, with my team. I hope you've done your homework. If you have, you'll know that the four of us are highly skilled shinobi, and we work well together. You could call for us whenever you need. As I said earlier, when all else fails, we could be an amazing trump card. We don't mind being outsiders. Of course, our salary will be quite high."

"Absolutely not! I will not associate with the likes of you. I can never trust you, someone who acts on whims and betrays his friends!"

Sasuke tilted his head, unbothered.

"Just think about it. What are you afraid of? I'll just be a mercenary to you, and the best one you could ever hope for at that."

"The problem with mercenaries Sasuke, is that they can work for anyone."

He returned her stare with unfaltering eyes.

"My brother sacrificed his entire life and more to protect your village. I finally learned to respect his wishes. I'm prepared to work exclusively for you. I hope you'll consider my offer. When you're desperate, and you know sending your men means a certain death for them, come to me instead. Nothing can stop me. I can do anything."

"You seem quite confidant, and arrogant if I might add."

"Think whatever you like. Just let me know what you decide."

He made a move to leave the tent.

"Wait," she said.

He smiled briefly but it was gone by the time he turned around to face her.

"How can I contact you?" She asked. "Not that I will. Just… just in case though."

"Would it be okay if Karin worked for you? You can tell your entourage she's served her time in prison, and ready to make amends. Meanwhile she could be our correspondent. I'll never be very far."

"I suppose that could be arranged."

"Then we have ourselves a deal. I'll send her over."

"Pleasure doing business with you," she said dryly.

Sasuke just gave a quick nod, and he slipped away unnoticed.

He went back to his friends to explain the situation. They might be unemployed for a little while, but Sasuke wasn't worried. As soon as this whole thing blew over, shinobi leaders wouldn't waste any time coming up with new reasons to scheme and fight against one another.

…

_One month later_

"Well, it didn't take as long as I expected," Sasuke said when Karin walked in.

They were in one of the underground structures in what used to be the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was actually playing with one of the cats when she came in. What? He was bored.

"What are you talking about?" Suigetsu exclaimed from the next room. Sasuke could see him through the open door. He was training with Jugo. Suigetsu went on, "I'm starving, more and more everyday! There is nothing left to eat in this entire place and we have no money left!" He walked in the room and glared at both Karin and Sasuke in turn. "You guys actually thought it would be longer than that before we got a job?"

Jugo wasn't far behind. "Sasuke told you to just be patient and trust him. Why can't you do that?"

"Because!" Suigetsu was practically yelling while he pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "I'm not an idiot with a blind faith in some pretentious asshole."

Living and hiding together for thirty days had rendered Suigetsu a bit too familiar. Sasuke didn't care much.

"How could you!" Karin was shocked.

"Save it, Karin," Sasuke interrupted. "Can't we just move on to the job you're here to deliver?"

"Right." She stood up straight and looked only at him, replacing her glasses. "Tsunade wants us to rescue one of her three men squads. Her best guys are busy with rebuilding the village and she didn't want to worry anyone. While on a mission, they've been kidnapped by the Sound village in exchange for ransom. Apparently, they are ruined from the war and they're blaming Konoha, or something."

"Is it important?" Jugo asked.

"Not really," Karin admitted. "Tsunade will be satisfied, and she'll reward us greatly, as long as we bring these three back. Apparently she'd rather pay us than just pay the ransom," she mused. "Must be some political reason."

"Again, do we care?" Suigetsu enquired.

"No," Sasuke answered in her place. "Works for me. Names?"

"Kiba, Hinata, and Shino," Karin said. "Oh, and Kiba's dog, I think."

"I know them," Sasuke said. "Where should we look for them?"

"She just said it, in the Sound," Suigetsu said.

"That's not very specific Suigetsu," Sasuke replied, annoyed. What a smart ass. "I'm asking where precisely."

Karin stepped forward while taking out a map from the inside pocket of her coat. She showed it to Sasuke.

"Tsunade marked the places where they could be held hostage. She said our best bet is the prison in the headquarters, here." She pointed on the map as she explained. "Also we have to wear Anbu uniforms and masks to hide our identities."

"No way, I'm not wearing that," Suigetsu said with disdain.

"I actually agree," Sasuke added. "We're wearing the black clothes Jugo made for us, with the hoods and masks covering only half our faces, so at least we can see properly. Honestly, I don't know how those Anbu people can have a perfect vision field with those masks they wear all the time."

"Must be why they suck so much," Karin nodded.

One of the cats was annoyed with Sasuke, because he wasn't playing with it anymore, so it went to harass Karin instead. She picked it up happily.

"Aw, Jugo," Suigetsu mocked, "you're like a maiden with your birds always flying around and your talent for making clothes."

"It just so happens that my talent ran out when the time came to make your outfit. I don't think it's very well fitted. And there might be holes in it."

"You ass."

"Just kidding your outfit's fine. As long as you stop making fun of me."

"Oh, okay."

"Ow, fuck, that bastard bit me!" Karin exclaimed as she dropped the cat and it ran away.

"Guys," Sasuke said, "shut the fuck up and get changed."

They obeyed, except Suigetsu who lingered around.

"And what if they recognize your pretty Uchiha eyes?" He asked as he leaned closer, smiling, teasing or flirting or whatever. Sasuke didn't know what was wrong with these people sometimes.

"If you're talking about my mangekyou, you're really an idiot if you think I'll need to use it against some Sound village losers."

"Whatever you say."

So they got changed and ready to go, Suigetsu beaming that they looked like real ninjas – whatever that meant.

The mission turned out to be long rather than difficult. They chose to save their strength for eventual fights so they weren't travelling full speed. No random fights were encountered on the road though. Well, they weren't exactly using a road, more like hiking through forests. But they were used to it. Besides they knew the way. As former associates of Orochimaru's, they had made it back and forth to the Sound village quite often.

In fact, as they got closer to the Sound country, Sasuke led them to one of Orochimaru's underground tunnels. Of course, it brought them to a secret hideout. These surroundings meant bad memories, especially for Jugo and Suigetsu, who had been kept as living experiments and prisoners in such places, so they didn't linger too long.

It was night when they sneaked their way in the prison. It wasn't that well guarded, really. One guard did spot them at some point, but Sasuke just cast a very simple illusion on him and they were good to go.

"What's the illusion?" Suigetsu nudged him as they walked through the silent, dark corridors. Most cells were empty.

"He's in a flower field with a beautiful girl."

"Really?"

"No."

"Everyone, shut up. I studied their files before heading out of Tsunade's office and I think I might've caught up on their chakra."

"Perfect, lead the way," Sasuke said.

They passed some other prisoners but they were sleeping. This was all in all boringly easy. Tsunade had asked _him_ to do this? Any Anbu moron could've done it.

Kiba, Hinata and Shino were in separate cells. They each had a blanket and… that was pretty much it. Not so cozy. They were blindfolded and tied with chakra restraining ropes. Suigetsu broke the doors open with his sword and they proceeded to untie them.

Sasuke was taking care of Kiba.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"We work for the Hokage. We're here to help," he answered in a low voice.

"Please tell me you have water and food!"

Suigetsu took that one. "Sorry mate, we're actually starving ourselves. But we'll take you back home right away so if you could just survive until then that'd be great."

"We'll be fine," Hinata said.

As for Shino, he wasn't talking much. They all started heading back out. But Kiba stopped them.

"I think there's another exit, maybe more discreet. It's just a hunch, but I did hear some guards going that way, and then they didn't come back, so…"

"Kiba's always right when it comes to these things," Hinata assured them. She sounded very weak but she was clearly trying to hide it.

"Let's go then," Karin said.

Sasuke was starting to think that maybe this was a bit too easy.

"Kiba, right? Tsunade mentioned you might have a dog with you." Karin said.

"Oh Akamaru's fine. He managed to escape and he's on his way back to Konoha as we speak. So how do we know we can trust you guys?"

"It's fine, Tsunade hired us. You have nothing to worry about," Karin answered.

"I'm still not convinced," Kiba argued.

"Please be quiet and keep moving," Jugo interrupted them.

They were quiet for a while, but not very long. This Kiba individual was starting to get on Sasuke's nerves.

"Tell me your names, at least."

"You're just going to have to trust us," Karin insisted.

"Or," Kiba replied while walking next to her, "we could fight you and escape on our own."

"Please don't," Suigetsu said, sounding as annoyed as Sasuke. "You'd lose. And we gotta bring you back in one piece so we'd have to just knock you out, and then carry you on our backs all the way… Ugh."

Kiba wasn't too happy with Suigetsu's little rant. He was about to reply but they reached the exit door. It seemed Kiba's hunch had been correct. But Sasuke had a bad feeling. Actually, it wasn't all bad. He wouldn't mind a little action.

"Bad news, guys," Karin announced, "there are shinobi waiting for us outside. They must have circled the place once they detected us. I think there's just as many at every exit."

"But no one saw us," Suigetsu exclaimed, "except for that one guard but Sa..."

Sasuke quickly grabbed Suigetsu and kneed him in the stomach to shut him up before he could say his name.

"Can't… breathe…"

"Good."

"They must have a sensor type or something." Karin shrugged. She seemed to be in a good mood all of a sudden. She always was when Sasuke beat up Suigetsu, for some reason.

"How many?" He asked her.

"Twenty-ish."

"Take those three and lead them away. I'll take care of it by myself."

The following moments were filled with a lot of whining from Kiba. He eventually came around, mostly because he was starved and weak and he couldn't fight properly anyway.

"Don't worry, our leader can handle them with his super special powers," Suigetsu explained.

Sasuke wanted to hit him again.

Anyway, it all worked out, somehow. Sasuke exited the building first, and he took out his sword. He made the hand signs, and stuck the tip of his sword in the ground. Immediately a circle of fire – regular fire, of course, he didn't need to use the black flames for this – was formed around all the Sound ninjas. It happened so fast they couldn't even move. The fire was high and strong. On the meantime, his friends were able to get away with the three former prisoners.

Sasuke smiled behind his mask when some ninjas were able to walk out of the fire, using various techniques. One was a wind expert, another had a shield around his body, and so on. Sasuke didn't care much about their powers. He had been bored for a while now. He wanted this; the adrenaline rush through his body. He couldn't live without it.

Of course, he wasn't killing them. He was only wounding their legs or arms, in a non fatal way. He had done this before. His goal wasn't to kill people. He just liked to fight. Right now he just had to stop them from going after their Konoha hostages. He knocked out those who were able to escape his flames. The rest would just be stuck in there for a little while.

Sasuke took his leave then.

Still boring, after all.

The four partners regrouped in the Uchiha compound after it was done. Karin was the only one who had gone to talk with Tsunade. Apparently she was very satisfied with their work. She gave them a generous amount of cash for it too. And Karin was back soon with another mission.

They performed every mission brilliantly, never harming people uselessly, always discreet, working at night mostly. It was all right, and it worked, for now.

Unbeknownst to them, people in Konoha were starting to talk.

…

The night was young. Naruto was out having a drink with Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji. The four of them were off duty on this particular night so it was an occasion to catch up.

Also, girls weren't the only ones who liked to gossip.

"So how's it going with Hinata?" Naruto asked Kiba.

They sat at a booth by the window, with a pitcher of the pub's darkest ale on the table. Apparently this place didn't mind selling beer to minors. Discovering this place had changed their lives – as long as they didn't get caught. This was only Naruto's second time coming here. But really, he needed it. Rebuilding the village was actually really hard, even with all his shadow clones helping out. Seriously, since they all worked really hard, Naruto felt so damn sore by the end of the day. His body hurt, like he'd been hit by a freaking meteor or something.

Well, now the hard work was pretty much all done. It was actually a bit boring as of late.

"I still haven't told her how I feel," Kiba sighed.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked after drinking his entire glass of beer.

"Dude you might wanna slow down," Chouji said quietly.

"I really need it I've been babysitting Kurenai's kid all day. Babies are really hard to handle, man. You have no idea. They're always crying, and… crying."

Naruto shook his head and looked at Kiba again.

"But yeah, why not?"

"I don't know man I think she's still in love with you, you know?"

Naruto just drank his beer. He wasn't really comfortable talking about that kind of stuff.

"I'm just not ready for a relationship."

"I know! But I am, I think, so I wish she'd just fall for me instead," Kiba laughed. "Ain't that simple though."

"What about Sakura?" Shikamaru looked up at Naruto across the table. "Would you be ready for a relationship with her?"

"It's not like that between us. Besides, she probably still loves Sasuke. She keeps talking about him. It's kinda annoying, actually."

"Some things never change, huh?" Chouji mocked him.

"Shut up that's not what I meant. He's not coming back, even though he helped us in the war. He's still not coming back. So I just wish she'd stop talking about it."

Naruto looked outside the window. It was a nice night out – not too warm, not too cold. Lots of people were hanging out.

An awkward silence followed. He regretted lashing out at Chouji like that. It wasn't anyone's fault.

Gossiping could only go so far.

"I heard the mist village also asked Tsunade for money." Shikamaru said.

"I can't believe so many villages are angry with us! Are they really blaming us because we didn't lose as many men in the war?" Chouji shook his head in disbelief.

Naruto nodded sadly. "I don't know what's going on. I really want to be Hokage after Gran but it just seems so hard sometimes. These other countries keep sending letters and messengers. They're asking for compensation, accusing Tsunade of scheming with her people during the war. They think she made it so that ninjas from other countries would be on the front lines or something. It just doesn't make any sense. They're just looking for trouble now that the war's over. So much for world peace."

"Don't give up, Naruto," Shikamaru said.

"I know! I'm never gonna give up. I'm just saying…" He waved his hand about. "Our guys are getting freaking kidnapped, you know? I saw you when you got back, Kiba," he turned to look at his friend, "you looked like you were gonna pass out any moment. Shizune said you were severely dehydrated and Hinata and Shino were the same. I mean that's horrible! What if these black ninjas hadn't saved you?"

"But we're fine now," Kiba shrugged half-heartedly. "We just have to be more careful in the future. They say they just wanna talk and then they ambush you and kidnap you… Okay you're right Naruto they're horrible."

"We still don't know who the black ninjas are?" Shikamaru asked. Again he looked at Naruto.

He shook his head. "I'm really curious," he admitted. "Tsunade won't tell me anything. I keep harassing her about it. She even kicked me out of her office earlier today cause I wouldn't stop asking. They're definitely strong, or so I've heard."

"We heard the same," Chouji added. "Lee got helped out by them on a mission a couple days ago. He said one of them was even better at Thai jutsu than he was. We're talking about Lee! I can't think of anyone who could have better hand on hand techniques."

"Whoever they are, they seem awesome. I kinda want to join," Naruto smiled at the thought. Would be cool, doing rescue missions. "But no… Tsunade wants me to stay here and rebuild and watch over the village… Says it's a good practice for being Hokage. Yeah, right. Even my kage bunshins are bored at this point so I'm sending them all over the place to tend to people's gardens and make small reparations and whatnot."

"My mom told me you walked the dogs earlier," Kiba laughed.

Naruto shrugged. "You're welcome."

"It wasn't even you I bet it was one of your clones!"

"So what?" Naruto said defensively, and he held his arm. "I'm still hurting from that bite… Stupid dog."

Akamaru growled at him from outside the restaurant. The window was open so he could hear. And of course, that dog could understand human language. Apparently.

"I wasn't talking about you, Akamaru," Naruto said, "you're the best."

He stopped growling.

They ordered another pitcher. They were drunk by midnight. Kiba and the others needed to go back home. Naruto just walked around aimlessly, thinking about Sakura and what she kept saying lately.

"_Sasuke saved us. Orochimaru did the reanimation jutsu, sure, but Sasuke was the one pulling the strings, wasn't he? He decided to come to our help. That's worth something. We should go looking for him, and ask him to rethink our relationship as friends and partners. We could be team seven again. Isn't that what you always wanted? You even promised me…"_

She went on and on about it, all the time lately. Hadn't she relieved him from that promise, anyway? He was confused when it came to Sakura. She was annoying.

If she kept talking about it, how was he supposed to move on and be happy? Stupid girls, sometimes… Ugh, he was so drunk. Now he felt sick.

"I'm not going to throw up," he tried to convince himself out loud. Great, he was talking to himself now.

He missed Sasuke.

Ugh, damn it, he needed to stop thinking about it. Actually, it was even worst when he was drunk. Stupid alcohol.

He shouldn't have drunk it. He was only sixteen. Seventeen, actually. Damn, sometimes he lost count. It wasn't easy to keep track when he had no family to care about his birthday. Great, now he missed his mom and dad.

As he got further away from the village, the small road turned into a trail in the woods. He was still lost in his inner musings. Even Kurama joined along.

"_You drank so much even I feel a little hazy."_

"_Sorry Kurama."_

"_It's okay, it's not a bad feeling."_

"_Oh, in that case, you're welcome."_

"_I've never been sealed inside an alcoholic Jinchuriki before."_

"_I am not an alcoholic!"_

At least he didn't speak out loud this time. Sometimes he forgot and spoke like he was talking to a real person. People in the streets really stared at him when that happened. It wouldn't be a big deal right now though, he was completely alone, in the dark woods at night. He pulled his black jacket tighter around himself. He wore all black outfits lately. He was being influenced by those new mysterious black ninjas. Dressing in black hadn't convinced Tsunade to let him join though. Damn it.

Maybe he should just go back to wearing orange clothes.

"_Enough with the orange already."_

"_You're right. I'll just stick to black."_

"_Plus it looks nicer with that red Hokage cape."_

"_You're absolutely right, Kurama."_

They were getting along so well. Maybe he was just drunk.

That's when he met a group of young people on the trail. They seemed to be on their way to the village, actually. But they weren't from here. Maybe they weren't even ninjas. They didn't have headbands, so…

"Hey, can I help you guys? I'm from Konoha…"

"Oh, we know who you are! You're famous." One of them said; a girl.

Naruto was a bit embarrassed. "Not that famous," he laughed it off.

"Yeah, you are!" One of the guys said.

These people seemed nice.

"Hey, um, we were actually looking for a nice spot to make a fire and just relax and hang out. Wanna join us?"

"Sure!" Naruto didn't see why not.

It turned out, the girl who had spoken first was Mila. She was so beautiful, and interesting. They were from a smaller village in the Fire Country, just travelling to visit the world a little. Naruto felt very inspired, and he was happy with this encounter. He felt so lonely from losing both his dad and Sasuke after the war that he enjoyed every bit of company he could get lately.

Leaving the others around the struggling fire, Mila took his hand and they went for a walk together. She pressed herself closer because she was scared in the dark – or so she said. Naruto didn't mind. But he was getting a bit nervous. He wasn't good with girls.

"So Naruto, tell me more about yourself."

"Um…" He scratched his hair, and noticed it was getting kinda long. He hoped he didn't look too ridiculous. "I like ramen. And training with my friends. And going on missions…"

"Missions, huh? Sounds exciting."

"It is," he said dreamily. He missed the rush of the fights. He hadn't been in a while. Besides, he'd love an excuse to use his new powers. He couldn't exactly unleash his full potential while training with his friends. He didn't want to murder all of them.

"Don't you hurt people on those missions though? Don't you mingle in other villages, other countries' business? Wouldn't it be better to just leave it alone sometimes?"

Her tone changed a bit, although she kept his hand in hers.

"I think our missions are righteous. We help friends in need. We rescue people who've been kidnapped. We arrest criminals – thieves, murderers, rogue ninjas…" He caught himself. "Well rogue ninjas aren't so bad, I guess it depends…"

"Unfortunately not everyone thinks that way. Some shinobi kill many innocent people during those missions. Konoha is particularly aggressive on sending out shinobi regularly for such tasks. You know, some other villages are starting to think that they should do something about it."

Naruto was naive, but not to that extent. He pulled his hand back and stopped walking. The clouds were hiding the moon. It was hard to see anything in the dark, so far from the fire.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Come with me, I wanna show you something."

"I think I'm gonna go back home now, it's super late…"

She insisted. "We're almost there though." And her voice was really soft now.

His judgment was dizzied by all that alcohol he'd had earlier.

"Okay, I guess. What is it?"

They walked a bit more but then she stopped again and smiled. She ran her hands through his hair.

"Your hair's so light, I like it."

"T-Thanks I guess…"

She kissed him, closing her eyes. He went with it, even though he felt nervous and awkward. He closed his eyes as well. He wrapped his arms around her waist. There was nothing special though, no spark. He hoped he wasn't too bad. For some reason he thought of Sasuke. That weirded him out a bit. Why did he think of Sasuke, of all people, in a moment like this? This was his first kiss. Well, his first real kiss. Ohhhh, so maybe that was why. But hey, that other one didn't count.

He really was too naive though. Why would a hottie like Mila go for him? Especially after telling him all that stuff about Konoha ninjas being assholes on their missions and whatnot. It just didn't make much sense. But he was drunk and stupid and curious so he made out with her. And while he was completely distracted and his guard was off, he was attacked.

A blade pierced the thin black shirt and sliced through his side. He stood for a moment, but then his legs failed him. It had pierced his lung. Blood gashed out. He couldn't breathe. It was so painful that he saw white. His whole body felt like it was burning, flames swallowing what was left of him. He felt like he was dying.

"_Take out the blade,"_ Kurama said inside of him, urgently. _"My powers can heal you if you take it out."_

"I can't, I can't…" He choked out. He couldn't move.

Mila was looking down at him. The guy who had thrown the blade also approached. Naruto felt vulnerable, and cold. He was supposed to have speed of light reflexes. Okay, maybe not speed of light, but still. He was a shinobi. He had accomplished so much. And yet he had been fooled tonight. He felt like disappearing, and not just because of the pain. He felt ashamed.

She put her foot on his chest, suffocating him even more. The pain was starting to fade away, replaced by numbness, and a buzzing in his ears. His vision blurred.

"Who knew it was so easy to kill the nine-tails' jinchuriki? But we don't want to kill you, not yet."

"What… do you want?" He breathed, blood escaping his lips.

The man answered. "We're the new Akatsuki. We want the nine-tails' power. We're sick and tired of Konoha bragging about you. Fun's over, Naruto. You're not a hero. You're nothing without the Kyubi's chakra. Anyone can have it. So, don't you think you've had it long enough?"

He leaned closer and took out the blade. Naruto was losing even more blood though. He couldn't stay awake. He was afraid…

"N-No… you can't…"

That was all he managed to say before passing out.

…

"New mission!" Karin chimed in. "I think you'll find this one interesting, Sasuke."

"What is it?" He looked up from his meal.

He was in the middle of tasting Suigetsu's cooking. It wasn't so bad actually. Well, he _had_ been used to much worst with Kabuto…

"Naruto's missing. She doesn't want to tell anyone, because she doesn't want to worry them, same as always. But he didn't report in this morning, and she's been looking for him discreetly; nowhere to be found. Not in the village, anyway. So we have to look around. She said to tell you this: I'm sure you know, but if someone's been able to hurt Naruto, or capture him, then that means that they might be extremely powerful. Be careful."

"Wow, is she actually concerned for us?" Suigetsu was surprised.

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke said, "either way, let's get going."

"We don't even know where to look!" Suigetsu protested. "This could take forever."

He had a point.

"He has incredible amounts of chakra though," he said. "Karin, if you concentrate, you could probably feel it from hundreds of miles away. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Okay maybe not hundreds of miles but… I can try, sure." She closed her eyes.

This took a while. Suigetsu kept talking and distracting her. Then Jugo and Sasuke both threatened to cut off his tongue and make him eat it if he didn't stop.

"I do sense an enormous chakra but it's... abnormal. I can take us there if you follow my lead. I'd say, North-West from the village."

"Let's get dressed!" Suigetsu exclaimed happily. He treasured the black ninja outfits.

Sasuke felt a bit of relief. It was such an unusual feeling. He didn't really know what to think. But the only thing he could come up with was that if Karin felt Naruto's chakra, abnormal or not, it meant that he was still alive. He supposed maybe he still cared.

* * *

_Don't hate me... I'm rather into the whole hurt/comfort thing and for that to happen, they're gonna have weaker moments, you know? I'm not good with the action, and fighting, and making sense of all the chakra and techniques related stuff. I'm just trying my hardest lol. I'm very good at drama though, I promise. And romance. So... I hope you like!_

_Oh yeah, and I don't know when the manga is happening exactly. You know what I mean? I just decided my story is passed Naruto's birthday and they're seventeen. And yeah there might be some outside characters but just for random villains no one cares about. Don't worry I'm not gonna try to introduce OCs and make you love them and all. Not gonna happen. What else? There's not gonna be male pregnancy. Not into that. _

_I think that's it. I hope you still want to read it. I'm already at chapter 4. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for the reviews - I didn't get a lot but the ones I got were really appreciated, so I say quality over quantity^^ - and everyone else who wants to keep reading! Okay, in this chapter, Karin uses her healing jutsu, but I want to warn you in advance because I don't really know how it works, I'm too lazy to look it up and besides I want to keep my chapter just the way it is cause it's important. Anyway, just go with it please lol. _

_Chapter 2_

Naruto was trapped. His wound wasn't healing. Kurama's chakra was barely keeping him alive. Now the problem was that all of his chakra – including Kurama's – was being leaked out of him through thin wires connected to his tied up arms and legs. He couldn't move, couldn't get away.

He was in the middle of a large empty room, inside a cave. They didn't have the power to extract the Kyubi. But they had come up with this mechanism to suck away chakra, even such as powerful as a tailed beast's. It was being stored in some big glass jars, which was kinda weird. But one of the guys in their group had this amazing ability to turn chakra into a visible form that could be stored like that. It looked like a sort of steam, and it was red and orange, like flames. That was Naruto and the nine-tail's chakra.

So this guy was then able to absorb it and make it his own. And once he had done that, he could also share it with the others. Of course, this was only temporary energy for them. They could go around and fight and they would be powerful and unbeatable. But it wouldn't be restored automatically, the way it was for Naruto. So they would come back down here and use the stored up resource. That was their genius plan.

Except Naruto was dying. Being hungover was now the least of his worries. He was weak from that injury in his ribs. It had bled a lot. He was unconscious most of the time. As soon as he or Kurama had enough chakra to heal up this wound, it was being sucked away. So he couldn't recover. Actually, he could barely feel his body at this point.

Naruto had an exceptionally strong will. He was positive he could hang in there for a little longer. But he was really scared. How long could he really last like this?

To top it all, he was really uncomfortable. They had tied him up face down, on the cold stone floor. His injury hurt, and he was freezing. Also, those chakra leaking wires really hurt. The tips were needles stuck inside his skin. Every time it absorbed his chakra, it left a stinging, burning sensation. It was extremely nauseating. He was too weak to even think of how he could escape. He could barely keep his eyes open. His brain just wouldn't cooperate.

These new Akatsuki were really horrible, plus they weren't as amusing as the last ones. They were just wannabes. At least Deidara had been amusing. And Itachi had been a really nice guy in disguise the whole time. Zetsu had looked like a plant, and Kisame like a fish. And that was kinda funny.

But these new ones? They were stupid. They were horrible people, doing this to him. What had he ever done to them? Why did they hate Konoha so much? So what if they were hardworking shinobi, always ready to help? They were just trying their hardest.

Naruto didn't want to die like this.

"_I'm sorry,"_ said Kurama, _"there's really nothing much I can do. This mechanism is really powerful. But I wonder, how much can they actually store? At some point, won't it be too much for them to handle?"_

"_I guess I just have to stay alive until then."_

"_That injury would've killed a normal person."_

Naruto smiled. _"Guess I'm not a normal person."_

"_That's common knowledge by now."_

He realized someone was in the room, looking at him. He was so out of it he hadn't even noticed. It was that man. The one that could absorb chakra.

"Luka, was it?" Naruto thought he had heard the others call him that.

"That's right."

"How long is this whole process going to take?" He couldn't utter much more than whisper. He didn't even have the strength to look up at him.

"It could go on forever."

"I don't believe you."

"Is that why you were smiling?"

"I was having a nice little chat with Kurama. That's the nine-tails. We're buddies you know. I'm the only one who can handle his chakra. We were saying how we're gonna kill you as soon as I get out of this."

"You're not getting out."

"You can't just keep extracting chakra forever. Where are you going to put it?"

"I thought you heard us when we were explaining. We're going to make it our own. I can share it with all my friends."

"Aw. That's sweet. But careful Luka, don't give them too much, or it'll consume them, destroy them."

"There are ten of us in total. Not all of us are present right now. We weren't expecting to capture you so easily." Naruto cringed. Luka went on, "But they're on their way. There's plenty enough chakra for everyone, and it won't be too much if we split it all equally."

"Then what? You use it, then come back and take more? I might not…"

"What?" Naruto didn't look up, but he could hear the smirk in his voice. "Are you saying you're feeling a bit weak? I thought you said you were going to kill me?"

"Yeah, well, this is a bit…" He tried to move but the needles in his body hurt him so much he was immobilized right away. Plus the ropes holding his wrists and ankles were made of a special fabric, maybe they were chakra consuming also, he didn't know. But they got tighter every time he tried to move.

"Watch it, if you move just a bit more, the circulation will be cut from your hands and feet completely. Then we'd have to cut them off."

Naruto's heart was thumping loud with fear. He felt like crying out for help, or something. But he swallowed hard and focused on keeping his calm. He needed to think… Why couldn't he think clearly?

"I'm kinda bored, Naruto. To be honest, there's nothing to do but wait for you to die. Let's be realistic. We can't let you live; you could escape and come back to kill us. That's too risky. Anyway, then I'll see how much chakra I've collected – quite a lot so far, thank you by the way. And we'll figure out what we can do with this power. Don't worry, we'll use it well. On the meantime, there's another way I can absorb chakra."

His steps came closer. One knee touched the floor.

"Do you want me to show you? I discovered that trick with my girlfriend. She was a powerful shinobi. It made sex a whole other experience. We both liked it, actually. It was really sweet. She said she felt safer when I left for a mission. She said a part of her was with me, since it was her chakra mixed with mine. Do you want me to try it with you? You're not bad looking. I wouldn't mind trying it with a guy."

"I think I'll pass." Naruto was paralyzed in fear. He was so fucking scared. What did that weird guy think he was doing?

He leaned even closer, placing his hand to cup Naruto's chin and lift his face.

"Why are you crying?" asked Luka. He was quite tall and intimidating, with narrow eyes and thin lips. Like Mila yesterday, he brought his hand – his much bigger hand – to touch Naruto's hair. "Did you like kissing her? I saw it, just before my friend attacked you. You were so nervous. Was it your first?"

Naruto was actually freaking out. He thought this guy was trying to kill him. Now he was trying to rape him first?

"But I have something else in mind than just a kiss, if you know what I mean."

"Don't…" Naruto cursed himself for sounding so weak.

Luka let go of his face and instead moved around him while sliding his hands down his back. He lifted his shirt a bit, and lowered his pants. He grabbed Naruto's butt with both hands and squeezed.

"You have a really nice body. You're small for a guy, and you have a really cute ass…"

Naruto was so tensed that, when Luka started fucking him without warning, it hurt so much more. It felt like his entire body was being ripped in two. The pain reached everywhere, his spine, his legs… It was just too much and it made him lose his grip onto consciousness again.

But as his senses faded he heard someone barging in, and he forced himself to remain awake. Luka pulled away from him and started yelling.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you?"

Naruto let himself hope; maybe someone had come to help. He couldn't help but feel humiliated and exposed like this, though. He couldn't see what was happening, he wasn't facing the right way. But he heard fighting noises. Luka was being loud, yelling for his friends to come and help. Naruto thought that maybe his savior, whoever he was, had allies and they were taking care of Luka's friends. They could be dead for all he cared. At this point, he really just wanted to get the hell out of here.

There was a loud thump and then silence. Which man had hit the floor? At first, when someone approached him he feared that it was Luka.

"No…" He whimpered, feeling ashamed for it. But it had just come out. Tears rolled down his pale face.

But then gentle hands replaced his clothes and then untied his ankles and wrists. Feeling slowly returned to those limbs. Naruto still couldn't move. The stranger then removed all the needles. Some blood slid out of every small injury. He could also feel some blood between his thighs... So humiliating.

He thought he saw a black sleeve at the corner of his eye.

"Who are you?" He asked weakly.

He got no answer.

"Thank you," he breathed out anyway.

He frowned and tried to lift himself up, or roll over. He couldn't do any of that though. Damn it, he really wanted to know who it was.

More people walked in the large room then.

"It's all cleared, we knocked them out," a female voice said.

"Hey, watch out!" A male voice this time. "This guy's getting up!"

Luka? No, that fucker needed to be dead.

Naruto wanted to know what was happening. This time, he managed to roll himself over. He almost cried out at the pain in every bone, every muscle and joint in his body. But he held it in, and he held himself up on his elbows.

These people were all dressed in black, and they had come to save him. So they were the famous ones everyone was talking about then. And yeah, Luka had woken up. But he didn't stand a chance, right? Naruto tried to convince himself. Because if Luka won, he was screwed, unfortunately in all senses of the term. He shuddered.

They all seemed ready to attack. But before they made a move, Luka did something really weird. He extended his hand and formed a fist, which attracted all the chakra that was in one of the glass jars. Then he punched the black clothed male nearest to him. He was also the tallest one, even taller than Luka in fact.

Everyone was confused. Luka, for starters, seemed very shocked that his opponent hadn't gone flying across the room from that punch. The one that had untied Naruto took out his sword, raised it and slashed Luka's body. There was rage in his incredibly swift movements. Naruto thought he recognized that sword, and those moves. This time, when Luka went down, it was for good.

But the one that had been hit by that chakra punch was acting weird. The two in the middle were staring at him.

"What's going on?" The girl asked.

The boy added, "Jugo are you okay? Seriously you're scaring me."

The tall guy ripped off the hood and mask. He had fiery orange hair and his eyes were maddened. His muscles seemed to get bigger. He started talking like a mad man.

He said something that sounded like, "Kill, need to kill, fast…"

Then he looked at Naruto with those crazy eyes. And he started running towards him. Everything happened so fast, yet it was like in slow motion. Naruto was scared again. His heart felt like it was going to burst. Even Kurama didn't know what to do. They were both still too weak.

Expecting a quick death – by being crushed, most likely – he closed his eyes. But when he opened them, nothing had happened. Well, yeah, something had happened. But he wasn't dead. His savior had protected him yet again.

He was on the floor, knees on each side of Naruto's legs, hands next to his shoulders. And right behind him was the impressive defense called Susano'o. Naruto looked into his eyes and they were red and black. He'd never seen them from this close before. They were still human, still beautiful somehow. They weren't as scary as he would have imagined.

That Jugo guy was still raging and trying to crush them. But Sasuke didn't falter. This was nothing to him. He could protect them both for as long as was needed. Naruto caught his breath.

"Oh my God, Sasuke, it's you."

He wanted to see him. He raised a hand slowly and pulled down the hood and mask, revealing Sasuke's beautiful face and his black hair.

With every hit Jugo brought them slightly closer. He could see Sasuke from so close, his perfect ivory skin, his nice lips, even his long eyelashes. Naruto was so grateful. He was still hurting, and cold and vulnerable. He had lost too much blood. It was still very difficult to breathe. But somehow, with Sasuke protecting him like this, he felt like he was going to be okay.

The others were trying to stop Jugo. They were yelling at him to stop this, to please go back to normal. He wasn't listening. He was like a beast.

"I need to face him," Sasuke said very quietly.

Naruto didn't know what to say. He couldn't even speak. He supposed he just had to trust Sasuke.

"Naruto," he said softly, "let go."

With a quiet gasp he realized that he had been holding Sasuke's arms this whole time, very tightly. His own arms were shaking from it. He slowly relaxed and he let go. He was embarrassed.

"It's okay," Sasuke said.

Then he turned around, and stood. Instead of charging again Jugo stopped. The Susano'o disappeared. Surely Sasuke's eyes returned to normal.

"Jugo, calm down," he said. "You don't have to be like this, remember?"

And just like that, Jugo was slowly regaining his senses.

"That chakra must have triggered your anger management issues."

"Shut up Suigetsu," the girl said.

As the adrenaline and tension slowly released his body, Naruto felt himself becoming extremely weak. He felt the life slipping away from him and it was frightening. His mouth tasted like blood.

"Sasuke," he whispered, "I can't… I can't… breathe."

Immediately, he was by his side. Well, if Naruto died now, he could die happy. It was almost impossible to believe it; Sasuke by his side, being his friend, caring about him.

Sasuke tore away what was left of Naruto's shirt so he could look at his injury properly. He lifted Naruto's arm and touched the stab wound with his other hand. Naruto moaned in pain.

"Karin, can you heal him?"

Naruto was probably imagining things, but he thought he could sense panic in Sasuke's voice. He was passing out again though. Fuck, he hated being so weak. It was humiliating. He had never been in a situation like this before. The Kyubi's chakra had never let an injury get this bad.

"I don't know if it'll work." She sounded worried. "The blood clogged up his lung completely. And his chakra's been drained for an entire day."

"Can you try?" More panic in his voice now.

"Yeah…" She offered her arm. Naruto couldn't really see anything though. His vision was black. He wasn't sure what was going on.

"I don't think he can… Let me do it."

It seemed Sasuke bit that girl's arm.

The next thing he knew, Sasuke's lips were sealed with his and he was giving him Karin's blood. The moment seemed to last forever, yet not long enough. It felt nice. Sasuke's lips were so soft. He had often wondered why that memory had never left him. Sasuke's lips just felt that nice. Plus that blood, as soon as he swallowed some of it, had immediate effects. It was like an extremely strong medicine. It numbed his pain and calmed him. His injury didn't seem as bad. All in all it was extremely weird, but it worked, so he wasn't complaining.

Before pulling away Sasuke kept their foreheads pressed together for a moment. Then he just looked at him.

"Was that enough?" He asked Karin but kept his eyes locked with Naruto's. They were so dark. Dark pools Naruto could get lost in.

"I don't know. Try asking him how he feels?"

"Naruto?"

Finally he answered. "Stop being so nice it doesn't suit you."

Sasuke let out a shaky breath of relief. He got up to his feet. Karin and Suigetsu had also taken off their masks now. Their identities weren't so secret to him anymore, anyway.

Looking at Sasuke's offered hand, Naruto shook his head.

"I don't think I can walk."

Karin's blood had helped – he supposed that was how her medical jutsu worked, or something – but only to the extent that he didn't feel like he was going to die anymore. He still felt awfully weak.

"Only one way to find out," Sasuke replied.

Naruto took his hand and let his friend help him up. As he had thought though, he couldn't stand on his own.

"It's okay I'll carry you. But first, here."

Naruto held onto his neck with both arms as Sasuke used the piece of black cloth that he normally tied around his head as a mask as a makeshift bandage for his chest. It was just long enough to be tied around his torso.

"Thank you," he said as he climbed on his back. He wondered why Sasuke was being so nice to him.

They started heading out. Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin were looking at Sasuke like they were seeing him for the first time. Naruto knew how they felt.

He fell asleep.

Only to wake up in a hospital bed one day later.

The cover story was that Tsunade's assistant, Karin, had found him and brought him in. Only Tsunade and Sakura knew the real story.

Naruto waited for Sakura to leave to have a little talk with Tsunade.

"I know who they are."

"You mean the people who attacked you? They've already been dealt with, so…"

"No." He cut her harshly. "The black ninjas or whatever people call them these days. I know it's Sasuke and his team. How could you? All these times I asked you. And you knew… You were paying them… I deserved to know!"

Tsunade pushed him down on his medical bed.

"You need to rest. We can discuss it later."

"I don't care what you tell me. You and I both know I'll get out of here. I'll jump out of this window if I have to. I don't care that we're on the fourth floor! My chakra's replenished and I feel fine. My body always knows when to wake up, and that's when I'm healed. You know this. You're just trying to avoid me! But you can't avoid me anymore! I already know! You have some explaining to do granny."

Sakura walked in.

"Naruto could you keep it down some patients are freaking out. Why are you yelling so much?"

"It's fine," Tsunade said, "I'll handle it."

As soon as she was gone, Naruto started again. "Where are they staying? Where are you hiding them?"

"Calm down, Naruto."

"Stop telling me to calm down!"

"Stop yelling!"

"Then start answering my questions!"

"Fine! I will. But not here. Meet me in my office in ten."

And she left.

"Sakura!" He yelled. "I feel fine. I'm ready to leave."

She came in and punched him in the face for yelling again. Then she unplugged the IV and let him go.

…

Later that day, Naruto found himself in the Uchiha compound. He had showered in his small apartment, and gotten dressed in clean clothes - his orange pants and black long sleeve shirt. He walked with his hands in his pockets.

Sasuke was the only one who knew what had happened to him. He needed to talk about it. At the same time, he didn't want to.

But yeah, Tsunade had told him everything. And now he was looking for Sasuke. Tsunade just knew that they were staying in the surroundings. She didn't know where exactly.

He looked up at the sky. The clouds were covering it all up. It was probably going to rain soon. He was a bit cold. He shivered and put his hands into fists inside his pockets. He kept walking slowly, just looking around for any sign of people living here.

Everything was so depressing here. It was all decrepit and mutilated. Naruto could still feel the pain people had endured. Or maybe he was feeling Sasuke's pain, which had always been something he could relate to. Loneliness, mostly. It screamed of nostalgia and melancholy everywhere he looked. Vines were climbing up the old walls. Every house looked like a setting for a horror story.

He thought he could feel Sasuke's chakra. He looked in that particular direction and frowned, tilting his head, as he saw a tile in the floor moving. The house was mostly destroyed and what was left of the door was wide open so he could see inside. Sasuke came out of the floor and then replaced the tile. No one could guess that this was an entrance to a basement, or hideout, or whatever it was down there.

"Hey," Naruto said.

"Hi. Karin felt your chakra."

"I assumed."

"Tsunade told you?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke just nodded. He looked around, like he wanted to make sure there was no one else.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Naruto asked.

"Sure."

So they walked, further into the compound. Sasuke was looking everywhere and nowhere at the same time. His dark gaze seemed distant. His long black hair danced in the wind. He had a jacket and he seemed comfortable. Naruto regretted not bringing one. He was really cold.

"Thanks again for saving me…"

"I was just doing my job."

"Of course."

Well this was awkward.

"I'm feeling better, in case you care."

Nothing.

"It still hurts, but I'll be fine. I mean I'll always have a scar, but that's okay. What's one more scar, right?"

"So why did you come here?"

Naruto stopped walking. Sasuke made one more step then stopped and looked at him, again without really looking. He seemed so distant and cold. But maybe that was just a façade. With Sasuke he never knew.

"I was an idiot, for thinking I could talk to you."

A shadow crossed Sasuke's face, but he said nothing. Again. The silent treatment. Sasuke's specialty.

Naruto was getting angry. All that pent up frustration and humiliation, he wanted to let it all out.

"I guess I was right when I said we're not good with words."

"Maybe you were," Sasuke replied.

"You know what?" Naruto frowned, pointing at him accusingly. "You're the problem. Cause I don't have a problem with talking when I go through stuff. I do the mature thing and confide in my friends so I can move on. But you can't! I grew up but you didn't. You stayed the same little boy that never wanted to talk to anyone. You never wanted to say one damn thing about yourself – except that you wanted to kill your brother that is."

Sasuke flinched at that.

"Look at that. Emotion."

"If you want to fight it's not going to work, Naruto. I don't want to find an opponent who's injured."

"I'm fine!" He spread his arms. "All better. I slept it off and my chakra level's back to normal."

"Your lung was filled with blood Naruto. I don't think you can be fine in twenty four hours."

"I beg to differ. I'm just that amazing. Maybe you're just afraid to lose."

"Lose?" He looked at him with disdain. Sasuke was always so fucking pretentious.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know the meaning of the word, do you? Well maybe I should teach you."

Naruto was itching for a fight. Maybe he just wanted to release the tension, to let it out.

"Fine," Sasuke said. "Rules?"

"None."

"Works for me."

Naruto went into sage mode right away. Sasuke looked intrigued and amused at once. They started hand on hand. Naruto smiled. Ah, now he could let it out, his full potential that is. Sasuke was so fast. But in sage mode, Naruto knew no equals. He moved so much more gracefully, and quickly. He had no limits. He saw through every move.

But it was the same for Sasuke. Naruto remembered that comment Chouji had made, about Lee witnessing one of the black ninjas being even better than him in hand on hand combat. Of course. Why didn't he think of it before? It had to be Sasuke.

He saw through every move and, not only that, he made it his.

"You're good," Sasuke admitted. He wasn't even short of breath.

Naruto was panting a little bit though, because of his injury. Even Kurama warned him that he should slow down just a little. But he couldn't. They were equals right now. Even a slight change in pace would break the fragile balance. Arms were meeting arms, blocking. They were jumping back to dodge kicks, leaping forward to lend a hit, which was being blocked again. Neither had hurt the other so far. They were both moving extremely fast, but for them that was easy, like a choreographed dance. Naruto had finally found the perfect training partner. Sasuke seemed pleased, as well, behind all that concentration. Naruto could feel it.

"Ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"I said no rules."

He jumped back and made the hand signs ever so quickly. A circle of fire soon surrounded them.

"Makes it more interesting, doesn't it?"

"I can't argue with that," Naruto raised a brow.

This limited their movements. They were forced to stay really close to one another while they fought. No more jumping back.

Naruto became short of breath though. He lost his concentration for a brief moment, and it was enough for Sasuke to hit his sternum. Naruto wasn't fast enough to block. He was losing sage mode. He was hurt.

Sasuke fell to his knees and caught him before he fell.

The fire disappeared. Naruto was trying to catch his breath. His wound hurt again. It wasn't that bad but he just needed a moment. He felt a bit feverish and cold at the same time. Sasuke sat with his legs in front of him, and he let Naruto use his thigh as a pillow.

"You were right." Naruto hated to admit. "I'm still injured…"

Sasuke looked up. One tiny drop of rain fell on his face.

"You were still really good though. I look forward to fighting you again once you're fully recovered."

"Deal." Naruto closed his eyes.

"It's going to rain. Do you want to go inside?"

"Can we just stay like this for a moment?"

"Okay. What happened to your face? I didn't do that." His pale fingers touched the bruise on Naruto's cheek ever so lightly.

"Sakura happened."

"What'd you do this time?"

Naruto grinned. "I was yelling at the hospital."

"She seems to have quite the temper."

"Yeah… Hey, I'm sorry I got angry at you. I'm sorry about what I said, the thing about your brother…"

"It's okay. What you said was the truth. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've said horrible things to you in the past."

"It's not so much what you say," Naruto mused, "it's what you don't say."

"What do you mean?"

"Why were you being so nice to me, when you saved me? Would you have done the same for a stranger?"

Silence.

"See? That's what I mean."

Naruto looked up. Sasuke's lips curled into a smile. Those lips…

"It's good to see you smiling."

"What about you?" Sasuke replied. "Haven't seen you smiling a lot."

"Yeah, well, last time you saw me I was practically dying. And today…"

"What about today?"

"I guess I can't stop thinking about it. What that guy did to me."

"Naruto… the reason I'm not talking about it… It was hard for me, to see that."

"Oh my God, you're disgusted with me." Naruto sat up and crawled away from him, horrified. Of course. He shouldn't have brought it up, ever again. "I get it, but, it wasn't my fault… Let's just not mention it again…"

Sasuke shook his head, and there was distress in his eyes.

"No, Naruto… you got it all wrong."

"Then what? No, you know what? It doesn't matter. Let's not talk about it again."

"Right. Well, I need to go back."

Naruto felt a pang in his chest – emotional, this time. He got up to his feet and they started walking side by side, in silence, again. Sasuke was lying, wasn't he? What could he possibly have to do in that basement with his friends? He probably just didn't want to spend time with him.

Whenever Naruto looked at him, his focus was on his lips. He couldn't stop obsessing over Sasuke's lips on his. It had felt so nice, and perfect. Well, he really couldn't blame Sasuke for being disgusted with him. Naruto sighed. When they reached the house in which Sasuke was staying, they parted ways without a word. This hadn't exactly been conclusive.

…

They had the night off for once. But Sasuke couldn't even sleep, and it wasn't because the old mattresses they used as beds weren't comfortable. And at least he had his own room, so he didn't have to hear Suigetsu and Karin's constant bickering.

The reason for his uneasiness was Naruto. He couldn't feel at peace as long as the image of that man raping his childhood friend was in his thoughts. When he had seen that, a feeling of anger and ferocious protectiveness had filled him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It could come close to what he used to feel whenever he protected Naruto or Sakura during missions, when they were much younger. But somehow it was different this time, more intense.

He kept replaying the scene, over and over. And in his mind it was something else entirely. First of all he killed that awful man right away, so that Jugo didn't have to go through that. Actually no, he didn't kill him. He cast a genjutsu on him, that would put him in a mental prison in which he was being raped repeatedly for the rest of his life. Yeah, that was what he should have done.

And then he untied Naruto and removed all the needles, careful not to hurt him too much. In his fantasy he picked him up in his arms and put him down on a bed. It just appeared there somehow – it was his imagination, so anything could happen. Also he removed his clothes, so he could kiss him all over. He wanted to erase the horrible thing that had happened to Naruto. He wanted to show him that he could be loved in a way that would never hurt like that. Sasuke could make him feel good.

Somehow Naruto was healed. But he was still weak, and vulnerable. He still couldn't forget what had happened. Sure, this was all happening in a fantasy, but it was terribly similar to what had actually happened earlier today. Naruto had come to him for comfort, and Sasuke hadn't been able to give it to him. He wished he could though. He supposed he simply wasn't used to it.

In his mind he replayed everything and it was so different. He held Naruto in his arms, tightly. And Naruto held him back, shaking and trembling, crying. Until the tears stopped, Sasuke held him close. And then he kissed his face, and his lips.

At some point it became a dream rather than a fantasy. Apparently it really was all he could think about lately, because even his subconscious led him through such an erotic scene with Naruto.

In the dream they were making out.

And then... they weren't just kissing anymore.

But then it was all ruined. Karin and Suigetsu's voices invaded the fantasy and it was all over.

"Who do you think it's about?"

"I don't know. Do you think maybe...?"

"It's not about you, you stupid girl."

"It could be! You don't know that."

"Sasuke doesn't even like girls."

"Don't say that! He's just shy."

When he woke up he was furious. Suigetsu and Karin had been watching him sleep.

"Uh-oh."

"We're sorry, Sasuke!" Suigetsu raised his hands in surrender.

"Please don't kill us," Karin begged.

Suigetsu freaked out. "His eyes! Run for your life, Karin!"

And they started running away. Sasuke produced the black flames of Amaterasu. The flames followed them as they ran. He smiled mischievously as he followed them out. They were running all around the Uchiha compound, the flames following and never fading. He made it so that they wouldn't actually reach them and hurt them, but were fast enough so that they were scared to death. Oh well, this was a good training for his eye technique. And this was a good training for their cardio; win-win.

"Sasuke make it stop, please!"

"It won't happen again, we promise!"

"Please!"

This went on for a while.

…

Their next mission was in the village hidden in the mist. Tsunade had prepared a ship for them to reach their destination. She had preferred sending them because it was actually really dangerous. Negotiations were tricky. Konoha had finally agreed to a loan to help out, rather than facing the treat of a war with the Mist. So Sasuke and his team were bringing the money. The reason why it was so dangerous was that the Mist hated Konoha so much it wouldn't be unlikely that they kidnapped the Konoha messengers and asked for a bigger loan in exchange for their freedom. These things tended to happen as of late. Tsunade wanted to avoid another situation like that at all costs.

Before sailing, they had a fan club cheering for them.

"Good luck on your mission, Kuro shinobi!"

The people of Konoha had decided to call them black ninjas because their clothes were black. They were very creative. But yeah, apparently they were popular. Some girls even asked them to sign autographs. Sasuke and Karin declined. Suigetsu signed his real name, that dumb ass. Jugo signed them as "Kuroshinobi".

As the ship sailed they could still hear the girls.

"Oh my God! He gave me his name! Suigetsu! I'll wait for your return! We could go on a date…"

Suigetsu smiled behind his mask. "I have fan girls."

Karin smacked his head. "Wait 'til they see your face then you won't."

"You bitch!"

Sasuke sighed and stood next to Jugo as they watched the sails men working the bar. The wind was quite strong.

"Thanks for your discretion, I appreciate that at least one of you got the part where I said I wanted to be anonymous."

"No problem Sasuke," said Jugo.

Sasuke wasn't used to being on a boat. He wasn't sea sick, but close. As twilight drew near the darkness seemed to envelope him, the sky and waves alike. The wind was cold. He decided to go rest inside for a moment. The others all stayed out so he could have a moment to himself. At least that was what he thought.

"Naruto?"

There he was, standing in the small cabin, looking for food in the cupboards.

"Damn it, there's nothing to eat here, I swear."

"What are you doing here?"

Naruto stood straight and faced him, smiling weakly.

"Crashing your mission?" He scratched his hair timidly.

"Why?"

"Okay, listen…" He sighed deeply. "Gran wants me to stay at the village for a while, to help people with trivial matters, solve conflicts, teach kids… She says it's good practice for being a Hokage. But I'm not Hokage yet!" He shrugged and smiled again. "I just want some action, you know? Do you have any idea how… how restless I am, just staying in my apartment alone and doing nothing? I feel so unsatisfied, you know? I'm sure you understand."

Sasuke swallowed hard. His body felt warm all of a sudden.

"I have a pretty good idea, yeah."

"So," Naruto's smile widened, "you'll forgive me for my intrusion? I just wanna help. I won't get in your way, I promise."

"Are you fully recovered?"

"Good as new, for real this time." Naruto lifted his black shirt to show him his injury. Indeed it looked much better. It was just a small scar already. Sasuke's eyes lingered longer than necessary on the exposed gold colored skin of Naruto's small but toned chest, and abs…

"Good."

"Oh lose the mask will you? It's just you and me down here."

Naruto walked up to him and slid down the mask and the hood for him. Sasuke just looked at him for a moment, then cleared his throat.

"So, um, you do know we're only delivering money to the mist village, right? There's a chance there won't be any action."

"I'm sure there will be." Naruto shrugged. He seemed in a good mood. "There always is." He kept running his fingers through his long-ish blonde hair, as though it annoyed him. Sasuke liked his hair like that though. He wasn't wearing his headband, either.

"I see you've been influenced by our attire," Sasuke indicated his black clothes.

"Yeah well, I've wanted to be a part of your group even before even knowing it was you."

"Really?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? Hell yeah! You guys get the coolest, most dangerous missions. You're like heroes. The whole village loves you."

"It's not that cool or dangerous, as you say. It's actually quite boring most of the time."

"Well the problem when you're as strong as us is that other people are too weak and their powers pale in comparison. That's why we should stick together, so we can train and fight together whenever we're bored."

"You actually believe you're as strong as me?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Here we go again. But we can't fight on the ship. I don't want it to sink." He laughed, and took Sasuke's arm briefly. "Come on, now that I've been discovered I don't have to hide down here anymore. Let's go out."

So they did. The cold didn't seem to bother Naruto. He really had recovered fully this time. They had to brief the others on what was going on. It wasn't that complicated, really. Naruto was crashing their mission.

"Come on, you want to fight or not?"

Naruto was being so childish and spontaneous. It was like a breath of fresh air. Sasuke followed him to the rail and looked at the menacing dark waves of water.

"Do you feel sick or something?" Naruto nudged him playfully.

"No I'm just not used to this."

"What are you afraid of? You're a ninja you can _walk _on water! Come on we've fought on water before."

"Yeah in a valley, not in the middle of the sea."

"Oh my God!" Naruto leaned closer, looking at him with deep blue eyes. "You're actually scared?"

"Not at all, I just don't see the appeal…"

It started raining so Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo went inside to find shelter. The sails men started questioning Sasuke and Naruto, wondering what the hell they were up to.

"Don't worry about us," Naruto said, "we're ninjas."

And then he climbed up the rail and threw himself in the water – on the water was more like it. Sasuke followed. He didn't want Naruto to think that he was scared. It was just a difficult place to be fighting on. He had to constantly focus on the chakra in his feet, so that despite the crazy waves he could try and have a foothold and stand.

"This is ridiculous!" He shouted to be heard over the rain and wind.

The ship was already getting further away.

"Oh come on it's an extra challenge! When have you ever said no to that?"

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. He gave up. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Rules?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No rules."

"Then you won't mind if I go in Kyubi mode? I haven't practiced balancing the chakras in a while."

"I'd be honored. Does that mean you'll transform into some humongous fox?"

"No," Naruto laughed. "I'll show you."

"I'm a little disappointed."

"Well I can do that too. But let's save it for another time."

A yellow light enveloped Naruto, like flames dancing around him. He was almost as bright as the sun in this darkness. Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were in that red and black pattern that formed the mangekyou sharingan.

Naruto started laughing for no reason.

"What is it?"

"Kurama just said not to blame him if I accidentally kill you with his chakra. He doesn't really like you."

"You guys are best friends now huh?"

"Why you jealous?"

"No just intrigued. There are only two jinchurikis left and I once tried to kill the other one. So I think you're my best bet if I want to ask questions."

"It's pretty great. Took me sixteen years to learn to appreciate it but it's better late than never."

"All right. Enough chit chat wouldn't you say?"

"Absolutely."

They jumped and clashed in the air. Naruto fell and got right back up. He circled Sasuke and attacked from behind. Sasuke was surprised. Naruto was so much faster in this mode, almost like teleportation. But that was a good thing. Sasuke was quite fast himself. He could unleash his full potential while training with Naruto and that was amazing.

After fighting hand on hand for some time, they were a bit tired. Constantly balancing their chakra to be able to stand on the waves wasn't an easy task. But they managed. It was good practice, too.

Sasuke could feel a thunderstorm in the air. To disorient Naruto, and also to show off a bit, he decided to use this to his advantage. He could control it; he had done it before. So he made the signs and thunder started growling. A lightning bolt appeared right next to Naruto. The latter was scared out of his mind.

"Did you do that?" He shouted.

Sasuke just smirked. He kept doing it, again and again, chasing Naruto with lightning.

"Are you fucking insane? I didn't know we were trying to kill each other."

"Oh come on I saw your speed. You couldn't be hit by that, besides I'm not even aiming at you. I'm just giving you a little extra challenge. Thought you'd be up for it?"

Naruto stared right back, a smirk dancing on his lips as well.

"I'll use my ninjutsu, see if you like that."

"For what, a rasengan? I'm shaking," he said sarcastically.

But he was impressed with what happened next. Naruto gathered such power into his attack that even the lightning was attracted to its massive energy. The rasengan didn't look like one anymore. It was pure chakra concentrated in a very large disk, with razor sharp edges. Sasuke saw it all through his sharingan. This had tremendous destructive power.

If this attack was thrown on a battle ground, even if it was dodged, it could be fatal. But in the water, Sasuke wasn't sure what to expect.

"Naruto," he shouted, "you might wanna, maybe, not throw that…"

But it was too late. Naruto was just showing off. He didn't want to actually hurt him, so he didn't aim at him. But it didn't matter. The large rasengan disk caused the water to split for a moment. It flew in Sasuke's direction since Naruto had aimed next to him, and he wasn't fast enough to swim his way up and find a foothold again. He was drowned by all the water and the waves caused by Naruto's attack brought him very far before it slowed down and he could gather his senses.

As he looked up, he realized with a start that it had brought him very deep in the water as well. And the courant was still against him. Actually, the repercussions were so extreme it had created a whirlpool, and Sasuke was stuck in it, so he really couldn't swim back up, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't do anything as long as he was stuck in it. This was bad. He could hold his breath long enough though, thankfully.

At some point though he swallowed water inadvertently, and he started choking. He really had to swim against it. So he tried again. The whirl was getting much weaker so it wasn't impossible, just difficult. His muscles ached as he got closer to the surface. He really wasn't used to this type of exercise. A hand closed on his wrist and pulled him back up on the surface, in a strong, swift movement.

Naruto held his waist as he choked, coughed and threw up water.

"I'm so sorry," Naruto was saying, "I didn't think that would happen."

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh through all the choking. "You're such a moron. Throwing that big ass chakra thing into the water. What did you think would happen?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Naruto was laughing, too. "It's just, you were showing off, so I wanted to show off too. But I guess my attacks are kinda…"

"Insane," Sasuke finished for him.

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

Sasuke nodded. He pulled away and managed to find his balance again. He proceeded carefully; wouldn't want to fall into that freezing water again. But then that asshole Naruto pushed him playfully. And of course he fell because he was still shaky.

"I'm sorry, it's just too easy! And I've never been able to make fun of you before in my life." Naruto smiled teasingly, and went back in Kyubi mode. "Race you to the ship!"

Naruto was so damn fast. This wasn't fair. Sasuke jumped out of the water and started running after him. But with this unfair advance Naruto would get there first for sure. Still, Sasuke's competitiveness forced him to go full speed. He pushed himself so hard that he actually caught up.

"Not bad," Naruto panted. He ran even faster after that.

So did Sasuke. He had never thought before in his life that he could run so fast, especially not on water. They were practically flying, forcing all of their chakra into their feet.

Once they reached the boat they jumped high at the same time. Naruto landed crouching down on the rail. Sasuke rolled over on himself and stood on the deck.

"I won," he smiled and let himself fall on his back, a hand on his waist. He knew it probably wasn't the case, but right now he felt like he had never been so out of breath before in his life. The soft rain was nothing now compared to that freezing water before. He didn't mind it. He closed his eyes.

He heard one of the sails men talking to Naruto.

"Did you see that huge wave before? It appeared out of nowhere! It looked like a freaking tsunami! Thank God it wasn't headed in our direction or the ship would've sunk! Do you know what happened?"

"Uh… not really…"

Sasuke laughed softly, and when he opened his eyes Naruto was sitting next to him. He was also smiling.

"I really am an idiot."

"Yes, you are. I'm gonna go ahead and assume it was just luck that your _tsunami_ wasn't headed in the ship's direction?"

Naruto scratched his hair. "Pretty much."

Sasuke shook his head. He couldn't believe this guy. He stood and went to sit against the rail, further from the guy working the bar to have some more privacy. He wrapped his arms around his knees. He still felt really cold from being in the water, despite all that running.

Naruto followed him and sat next to him again.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You're trembling. Now I feel bad."

"I won't die," Sasuke looked at him. He liked the color of his eyes. At night they seemed darker. Like sapphires.

"But you're cold. I can help."

Naruto closed his eyes, concentrating briefly, before switching back in Kyubi mode. Sasuke was a bit nervous at first, being so close to those white and yellow flames. But he realized they weren't actually flames. They were a protective layer surrounding Naruto's body. And it was very warm. Sasuke shifted a little closer, intrigued. It didn't hurt when it touched his skin. It was like warm air.

Also acting a bit nervous, Naruto took off his shirt clumsily. He motioned for Sasuke to get closer.

"Don't be scared."

"I'm not."

"I'm just trying to help. I owe you, big time."

."You don't owe me anything," Sasuke said calmly.

"Yes, I do. You saved my life."

Lulled by the promise of warmth, Sasuke closed his eyes slowly as he rested his head against Naruto's shoulder. He let Naruto wrap his arm around him.

"You're trembling so much."

"It's November," Sasuke said quietly, "what did you expect the water to be like?"

"Sorry." He squeezed Sasuke's body just a little tighter in his arm.

"Stop apologizing. I'll be fine. And… it was fun."

"Wasn't it?" Naruto said happily. "I hadn't felt that excited in a while."

Oh my God, Naruto wouldn't stop with the innuendos… Earlier he was unsatisfied, now he was excited…

"What's going on?" Naruto asked innocently. "Your heart's beating really fast. I can feel it."

"It's nothing." Sasuke pulled away immediately. He sat up straight against the rail, next to Naruto, but without touching him. He lifted one knee to hide the bulge in his pants.

"Whatever you say. Are you sure you're warm enough?" He dropped the Kyubi mode.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem."

They would arrive to destination in a few hours. So they went to sleep until then. Well, Naruto went to sleep. Sasuke was restless. So Naruto was crashing his mission and he wanted to get some action? Could be interesting.

* * *

_Thank you for reading, hope you liked! And I said it at the beginning but in case you skipped that - which is ok and understandable - I'm saying it again here. Please don't tell me "that's not how Karin's medical jutsu works" or whatever... I know, I know, I just wanted to write it like that! For obvious reasons lol so yeah. It's a fan fiction I do what I want. _

_Oh and I apologize if they're OOC. That's because in my story, I've decided they're normal human beings and they have sexual desires and feelings and all that stuff. We all know that can make people act quite differently when they're around the other person. That's pretty much it, thanks!_

_(Are my chapters too long? Cause I can make them shorter.)_


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